Joints and connections – Articulated members – Including static joint
Utility Patent
1998-09-03
2001-01-02
Melius, Terry Lee (Department: 3629)
Joints and connections
Articulated members
Including static joint
C403S057000, C403S074000, C403S078000, C403S123000, C403S128000, C403S164000, C016S228000, C016S286000, C351S153000
Utility Patent
active
06168341
ABSTRACT:
Device for protecting and guiding an elongate part connected via a hinge to two mutually hinged elements, and industrial applications thereof.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This is the 35 USC 371 national stage of international application PCT/FR97/00460 filed on Mar. 14, 1997 which designated the United States of America.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system for protecting and guiding an elongate component, such as a filament or a tube, attached, in the vicinity of the joint, to two rigid elements hinged to each other, and industrial applications of this system.
Specifically, the invention relates to such a system in which the rigid elements are connected to each other by a hinge enabling them to occupy different relative angular positions and in which the elongate component is laid along two successive channels positioned end-to-end and formed one in each of the rigid elements.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many technical fields employ hinges designed to allow two rigid elements to pivot about at least one pivot point and thus occupy different relative angular positions. These hinges may take the form of, for example, metal hinges, extensible joints, ball joints, universal joints, etc. In some applications it may also be necessary to establish an electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, optical or mechanical connection between the rigid elements, for example in order to transmit some kind of command, signal, power, force or information from one rigid element to the other. Thus, in the automotive industry, it is sometimes desirable to pass electrical wiring between the doorframe of a vehicle and the door hinged to this frame in order to power a motor and adjust the angle of the wing mirrors in response to a signal transmitted from the interior. Clearly, this electrical wiring must neither interfere with the smooth operation of the hinge nor risk being damaged by it.
In the systems of the prior art, the passing of such wiring or other elongate components from one rigid element to the other is generally done in one of two ways: passing it directly through the hinge, or passing it through a boot independent of the joint.
Direct passage is illustrated by international patent application WO 92/15916 which discloses an extensible or elastic hinge comprising two rigid elements which have complementary bearing faces and are capable of pivoting relative to each other about a physical hinge pin or geometrical axis of rotation. A passage designed to take one end of an elongate elastic connecting element, capable of transmitting a force, is provided in each of the two rigid elements. Another example of an elastic hinge is disclosed in European patent application No. 0,689,634 in the name of Chene et al, in which the above general characteristics are also found. The disadvantage with these systems is that the surfaces of the hinges in contact with the elongate component must be perfectly smooth and have no sharp edges, in order to prevent premature wear of the component. This necessitates expensive and complicated operations which affect the costs of manufacture of these joints.
In prior art systems using a boot, the boot gives some protection to the elongate component, but it has nonetheless been found that this protection is insufficient inasmuch as the danger of pinching, shearing or cutting through the component is not negligible. There are moreover certain constraints involved in this technique, in that when using a boot it is necessary not only to prepare a certain number of holes by which to fix it to the two rigid elements, but also to adjust the maximum degree of expansion of the boot to the maximum angle of opening of the joint.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention solves the above disadvantages of the prior art in that it provides a system for protecting and guiding an elongate component, in which a movable member is situated between the rigid elements of the joint, which member can at least be rotated about an axis of rotation of the joint and contains a passage suitable for accommodating the elongate component.
A movable member of the above mentioned general type is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,297 which discloses a rotatable bushing between a display screen and a portable computer keyboard.
The function of the movable member is to guide the elongate component, in order, for example, to prevent it from interfering with an adjacent hinge, if any, or, in the case of extensible hinges, to direct the transmitted force. Furthermore its rotational mobility allows it to position itself with respect to the elongate component, so providing better control of the radius of curvature of the elongate component in the vicinity of the movable member and consequently reducing the likelihood of the component's becoming kinked undesirably along its length. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, this likelihood can be still further reduced by giving the passage formed in the movable member a configuration such that each of its open ends has a radius of curvature that is at most equal to the minimum radius of curvature of the elongate component in the vicinity of the end. For example, the movable member may contain an essentially cylindrical passage which is flared out at its open ends. Alternatively, and in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the passage formed in the movable member may be shaped essentially like the inner part of a torus, of circular or elliptical cross-section, the meridian circles of which have a radius that is at most equal to the minimum radius of curvature of the elongate component in the vicinity of the open ends of the passage.
In addition, in order to prevent wear of the elongate component where it contacts the inside walls of the movable member, the member must be composed of a material offering minimal roughness, such as a ceramic, a polished metal or the like.
The movable member is preferably free to move in a plane parallel to a plane of rotation of the joint, or even in two orthogonal planes each of which is parallel to a plane of rotation of the joint.
The channels formed in the two rigid elements advantageously each open into a cavity formed in the ends, of the rigid elements, which cavities are opposite each other, and the ends have mating forms, so that, when the rigid elements are engaged with each other, the mating forms of their ends fit together, and the movable member fits inside the ends. In this way it is possible to give the rigid elements a stable relative angular position. Other such positions may be obtained, for example by so configuring the ends of the rigid elements as to produce a cam action during the relative angular movement of the elements in a plane of rotation of the joint.
Also, at least one of the rigid elements may be provided with stop means that limit the relative angular movements of the elements in at least one plane of rotation of the joint, e.g. as far as an unstable relative angular position.
The elongate component may be solid or hollow. It may be a filament or a tube composed of an inelastic flexible material associated with at least one elastic part, such as a helical spring, the filament or tube being immobilized by stop parts provided one in each of the rigid elements. According to another possibility, the elongate component may be an elastic filament, each of whose ends is anchored in one of the rigid elements. Thus, the elongate component may take the form of, among other things, a yarn, wire, cord, hose or the like, which may be braided, twisted, stranded and/or sheathed. Tubular means of transmission are designed to establish, for example, an electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic or optical connection, whereas elongate components in filament form can be used to transmit a mechanical force such as an elastic force from one rigid element to the other.
In the light of the above, it will be readily appreciated that the system according to the invention can be fitted to conventional hinges having a physical point of pivoting represented by a pin, a dowel, a bolt, an axle in one or mo
Chene Richard C.
Delamour Dominique V.
Rodi Olivier J.
Melius Terry Lee
Somrak Danielle
Young & Thompson
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